About Me

Weave the films, Being There and Gandhi into a tapestry of gourmet Mediterranean vegan cuisine, organic wine and a sound track by Nina Simone, place it in a philosophical artist community in Italy near a beautiful body of water, fill it with people who have a passion for chess and an acceptance of psychic abilities, frame it as the book, Illusions by Richard Bach and you have a fair representation of who this woman aspires to be and sometimes is.
Often called a Renaissance woman by others, while inwardly feeling like a Jane of all trades, master of none, jd smith is a writer, performer, Reiki practitioner, empath, intuitive consultant, advocate for equality and occasional chess coach.
She lives on the Southern California coast in a small and relatively peaceful beach community yet, considers herself a New Yorker at heart.
Ms. smith has been married for nearly two decades and is the chief care giver to a senior parent and a toddler child.
Life is good! Si non è vero, è ben trovato -as the Italian's say: even if it's not true, it should be.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Chess For Kids

There are four universal abilities that I wish I could bestow upon every child: how to play a musical instrument, speak a foreign language, enjoy a physical discipline (dance or sports), and how to play chess. One can go anywhere in the world with three of these ways to communicate without words. To communicate is to connect. The more we connect to others the more connected we become to the world at large; and connection is both a gift and an art form.

Chess teaches the art of thinking things through before acting but with a conscious mindfulness of time management while incorporating intelligence and intuition as well as creativity and logic to make each choice. It's also fun and can inspire joy, especially among those of us who enjoy laughing at ourselves.

Games and sports are often synonymous with competitiveness. However, chess is one of those great activities in which participants can play with the intention of improving their game rather than merely to compete against others.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for children as people and am always impressed with how they form conclusions based on observation, logic or intuition. Each child thinks with unique aspects of their brain depending upon where they are on the spectrum from learning disabled to gifted and yet they all possess genius in their own way. As a chess teacher and a mother I am privileged enough to witness this first hand; it's thrilling and fascinating.

Chess is arguably one of the most complicated games to learn; but for a child with an porous sponge of a brain, it's nothing more than additional information. The most brilliant minds among us are often children under the age of ten.

Please check local community based programs for chess classes. I guarantee it will be an investment in your child's future in more ways than you can imagine.